Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2007)
PageAò___________________ ______ il! ^Jnrthtnb ffib seru er___________________________ Ma.yl6-2007 Momentum Builds for Vanport Square Development f con tin u ed fro m Front business leader, and Jeana W ooley, a com m unity activist. The same duo w as b eh in d the first p hase o f V anport Square, already undercon struction tw o blocks north. Begun seven years ago as a multi block, 5(M),(XX) square foot m ega project for econom ic developm ent in the heart o f Portland’s African A m erican co m m u n ity , V anport Square got adram atic start in March with ground breaking for a 40,000 square foot struc ture that will house 13 to 15 b u sin esses. P D C s ta f f e r B e rn ie K erosky told the com m is sion last w eek that 80 per cent o f the spaces have been sold, and that the building, now 50 percent c o m p le te , is d u e fo r com pletion in October. Adam Milne will become one o f the first business ow ners to operate at Vanport Square when he expands hisO ld Tow n Pizza restau rant. M ilne also is a neighborhood resident w ho endorses the latest developm ent. “ It will lead to a critical mass that will lead to success for all involved," he said. R epresentatives o f the Vanport Project Advisory Com mit- done entirely with private funds. Faye Burch o f the National A s sociation o f M inority C ontractors protested that V anport Phase One did not have a sufficient num ber of minority contractors. She asked for “a specific condition” for a better perform ance in the new phase. Steve Block o f 24-H our Fitness said the health and athletics center will be the 15th facility the com pany An artist's rendering shows the Magic Johnson 24-Hour Fitness coming to Northeast Alberta and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. operates in the Portland area, but The development is the latest phase o f Vanport Square, a minority-owned commercial and retail development under construction will be the first M agic Johnson Sig and supported by the Portland Development Commission. nature gym located outside C alifor T he 32,000 square club members. nia, containing photos and m em o K erosky said the sale w as calcu rabilia o f the form er NBA star. foot Heritage Project on M LK is ju st being lated to allow the developm ent team “W e w ere ready to g c a year com pleted, and last to m eet its obligations and m ake a ago,” he said. m onth, PDC sold a 15 percent profit. (He later said it Leary later told the Portland parcel on N ortheast would probably be slightly less.) O bserver that, “T his is one o f sev Should Leary and partners gain eral gratifying m om ents - and I B e ec h S tre e t to a g ro u p o f in v e sto rs m ore than 15 percent profit after 11 em phasize m om ents - because we who will create a head years, they will pay PDC the differ have a volume o f work in front of us. quarters and clinic for ence up to a m axim um o f $ 1.7 m il T h ere’s architecture, design review - Ray Leary Planned Parenthood, lion. Leary pointed out that the $ 15 and perm itting. It’s a step toward plus 10,(XX) square feet m illion cost o f construction will be our vision.” this boulevard deserves. It tells oth o f ground floor retail. tee also voiced their support. The latest V anport developm ent Kerosky, Leary, and his partner ers that the boulevard is retail-ready MEMORIAL DAY T here are other indications that had som e controversial co m p o Jeff Sackett also stressed that 24- Hour Fitness represents legitim iza it is so. The new 20,000 square foot nents. PDC is selling the parcel for tion o f M LK as a business and M id-K B eauty h ea d q u arte rs at $600,000 when its assessed value is M LK and Cook Street is com pleted $2.3 million. PDC’s Bruce Allen said developm ent area. “ Ina lot o f way s this is acatalyst,” and seeking retail tenants. So is the the elem ent that m ade the bargain Leary later told the Portland Ob 8,(MX) square foot Frem ont Project price necessary was the parking server. "This is the first national at M LK , w hich already has the garage, which will cost $3.5 million and is essential to attract health brand willing to pay the kind o f rent T erroir R estaurant as an anchor. In a lot o f ways this is a catalyst. This is the first national brand willing to pay the kind o f rent this boulevard deserves. It tells others that the boulevard is retail-ready. FRIDAY MAY 25™ 2007 a y r" / / r JOINING OF THE VOICES LOS ANGELES, CA Leadership Role Welcome Surprise con tin u ed fro m Front N A A C P , but b efo re she and the new P o rtla n d e x e c u tiv e c o m m ittee can m ake strid e s in e d u ca tio n and em p o w e rm en t, they start from th e g ro u n d up, in c re a s in g m e m b e rsh ip an d r e b u ild in g a c o a litio n w ith fellow o r g a n iz a tio n s . “ W e ’re p re tty m u ch g o in g back to a g ra ssro o ts ap p ro a ch , re sto rin g th e leg acy o f the P o rt land b ra n c h ,” she said. “ P eople w ant to say re v ita liz e , but I say r e s to r a tio n .” F o r s c o re s o f c o m m u n ity - m in d e d a c tiv is ts in P o rtla n d , seeing such a y o u n g m in d lead the b ran ch is an e x c itin g step fo rw ard . M cG ee said sh e has rec eiv ed d o ze n s o f c a lls from the lik es o f Sen. A vel G o rd ly , E q u ity C e n te r D ire c to r Jo y c e H arris and y ou th ad v o c ate M ark Ja ck so n . M an y h av e to ld her she faces a d iffic u lt ro ad , but not to allo w failu re to sto p her from m o v in g fo rw ard . J a c k s o n , w h o h as w o rk e d w ith M cG ee th ro u g h h is s tu d en t o rg a n iz a tio n R E A P , Inc., said he c a lle d her soon a fte r he read the new s o f h er n o m in a tio n . “ I t’s a sig n th a t th e la n d sc a p e is c h a n g in g , in te rm s o f a fresh v isio n an d fresh id e a s,” Ja ck so n said , p o in tin g o u t th a t as M cG ee has a d u al p e rsp e c tiv e o f A frica an d A m erica, she u n d e rsta n d s the o rg a n iz a tio n ’s f u n d a m e n ta l g o a l o f r a c ia l e q u a lity . “ W h y it (th e b ra n c h ) s u b sid ed , I d o n ’t k n o w , b ut I d o k n o w C h a rlen e has the w h e re w ith a l to resto re the o rg a n iz a tio n to its o rig in a l p u rp o se .” M c G e e ’s fa m ily h a s b e e n su p p o rtiv e as w ell. H er b ro th e r C h a rle s is a few y ea rs y o u n g er, b u t he to o k tim e to g iv e his sis te r ad v ic e an d sh are his e x p e rie n c e ru n n in g fo r th e P o rt la n d P u b lic S c h o o l b o a rd in 2 0 0 5 , w hen he w as ju s t 19. N ow , as M c G e e ’s d ay s are c ra m m e d fu ll w ith m e e tin g s an d ev e n ts on to p o f h er fu ll tim e j o b , th e w o r d s o f A m e ric a ’s first A fric an A m e ri can C o n g re ssw o m a n ring tru e in h er m ind. “ S h irley C h ish o lm said ‘se r v ic e is th e re n t w e p a y fo r liv in g on e a r th .’ T o m e, now is m y tim e to p a y .” TIM BISHOP B R O W N / q & THE MIRACLE MASS CHOIR V- SEATTLE, WA DANEIL D A Y M O N & ROYALTY PORTLAND, OR DERRICK MCDUFFY & CHO SEN GENERATION tX X ÎtS OWN At ZZM (V fN t $ U » H AI 8ZM FREE A D M ISSIO N ESCAPE Just west of Portland 1,700 acres of hilly forestland between HWY 26 and Vernonia is now protected as a state park. Constructed with funds from the Oregon Lottery, "S tu b " Stewart State Park is Oregon's first new full service park in more than 30 years. It's less than 30 miles from Portland and it opens July 2007. With 80 campsites, 15 miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking, a cabin village, a horse camp, a hike-in camp for backpackers, interpretive exhibits, a sheltered picnic ground and a hill-top observation tower for sightseeing and stargazing, Stub Stewart is an ideal place to escape into nature - whether you want to get away or just hear yourself think. In 1998, Oregon's state parks were in trouble. There wasn't enough money to maintain them and some were in danger of closing, which is why Oregonians voted to use Lottery profits to support state parks. Today, Oregon is able to make investments in all of its parks and is buying and developing new park land across the state because of the Lottery funding. itdoesgoodthings.org M tJT OREGON LOTTERY It does good things Lottery games are based on chance and should be played for entertainment only I H IO H IA N D CHRISTIAN C F N H R 7 6 0 0 NF CUSAN PORTI AND, OR DR. W .G. HARDY, IR.. StNK JR PASTOR k r I,
